But forgetting Darvill, there is one more choice for who would be the ultimate Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore!

Bean There Done That

Over at Movie Pilot we may have already fan cast our choice for who would make a great young Dumbledore, however, let's chuck one more name in for good measure: the gruff, fatherly Sean Bean.

The 57-year-old has the right balance of fun and seriousness to play Dumbledore, plus it's Sean f*cking Bean, he is a British institution. The Potter films gave us two very different version of the Hogwarts headmaster: Richard Harris was the frail and ancient Dumbledore, while Michael Gambon took on the overly aggressive "Grumbledore." Bean could easily strike that middle ground with his broad Sheffield twang.

The Fantastic Beasts films need to strike that careful balance between eccentric genius and imposing wizard force — don't forget that Dumbledore is the only wizard in the world that Voldemort was afraid of, while the battle between Dumbledore and Grindelwald is the most infamous wizard duel in the world. The three-hour long battle resulted in Dumbledore's victory and winning of the Elder Wand.

Rowling revealed that the next four films will lead up to the battle and Dumbledore's ascension to headmastership, so why not Bean? He definitely has the screen presence to lead — he was Ned Stark duh! Plus, having Bean as Dumbledore would provide one of those rare films where he doesn't die during his time on screen. He might just need to hide that Sheffield accent a little bit (but not too much). Sorry Arthur, better move aside and start practicing your Polyjuice Potion, this film needs some Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Sean Beans to make it magical.

5. SEAN BEAN Though people are most familiar with Sean Bean as the former head (some pun intended) of House Stark in HBO’s Game of Thrones, the British actor has a long history of playing roles in fantasy, sci-fi, and action films. From 006 in GoldenEye to Boromir in The Lord of the Rings trilogy to Zeus himself in Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, Bean has a number of hefty genre performances under his belt. With turns in the Silent Hill franchise, Jupiter Ascending, The Martian, and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Bean is just begging to be added to the cast of the Fantastic Beast franchise.

While he would have been a strong casting choice for the role of Dumbledore’s former friend and rival Gellert Grindelwald, he’d also make a pretty excellent Albus given his track record. He’s more than got what it takes to manage the drama and action of the film, and his role in Pixels, while not the best qualifier, at least proves he’s not adverse to some comedy. Plus, just imagine how the Internet would react if Ned Stark was cast as Albus Dumbledore; that alone is worth it.

Interesting list. There are a few who, while they've given good performances in other things, I think Johnny Depp would simply steamroller. He couldn't steamroller Sean, but it would be fun to see him try.

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his role in Pixels, while not the best qualifier, at least proves he’s not adverse to some comedy.

OMG, I love Berlin Noir. I think Sean would be a perfect Bernie Gunther.

Old news but....

HBO Acquiring Philip Kerr 'Berlin Noir' Novels For Series

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EXCLUSIVE: HBO and Playtone partners Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman are in early talks to acquire the Berlin Noir novel series by Philip Kerr. The plan is to develop this as a series that focuses on the police detective character Bernie Gunther in 1930s Germany, with the political climate and run-up to WWII and then the Cold War as the backdrop. Deal isn’t done yet, but I’m told that it will close. Numerous studios and producers pursued the property as a feature, but the author decided to go for a prestige series. He’s gone through enough development hell on the feature front on past books and HBO can point to enough successes like Game of Thrones to show the merits of an episodic adaptation of novels with storylines that span around 20 years.

In spring of this year, Kerr gave an interview and someone asked about movies. Nothing moving forward. Only interesting thing to me was that he said that years ago, he imagined Klaus Maria Brandauer in the role, but he is too old now. Casting is probably the issue. I think a lot of people imagine Bernie as having a Bogart personality (I know I do), but not looking like Bogie. Jeez, if they'd asked Sean 10 years ago, they could have done all the books.

SEAN BEAN No, I’m not kidding. Despite how recognizable Sean Bean is as an actor, I could definitely see him dabbling in a little bit of wizardry for his role. We’ve seen him break hearts on other big budget fantasy properties like Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones, and we know the man, like Jared Harris, has played a large number of different types of characters.Throw a beard on Bean, change up his accent, and I’d say you have quite the compelling possibility here. While I could see the argument that perhaps Bean’s body build is a bit too wide for the part, we could always chalk that up to age. Besides, so long as he brings a great performance with him (and we’re sure he will), that difference in physicality won’t keep us questioning him for very long.

Has anybody read the DCI Ryan mysteries by LJ Ross? It came across my social media and somebody was suggesting Sean for Ryan in any future film. Would that suit him? I think I might get the first one on Kindle because it looks interesting.

Yes, Sharpe, Boromir and Lord Eddard Stark are iconic. I would love to see him as a jedi master (how is it that he has never been in Star Wars?) to round out those iconic roles. After that, I'd like to see him as a detective, sort of like Colombo, but with moments of that dangerous and sexy edginess that only Sean can bring.